Ron Paul Launches New Homeschool Curriculum

Ron Paul launches his own school

Although Ron Paul has left Congress, he will likely remain an influential voice: the libertarian-leaning Texas Republican has launched his own homeschooling curriculum for students, which he hopes will be “revolutionary” in restoring limited government.

“We cannot expect a federal government controlled school system to provide the intellectual ammunition to combat the dangerous growth of government that threatens our liberties,” Paul said during his farewell speech to Congress last November. Months later, he has launched his own online school to provide students with the education that he believes the government will never teach them.

The K-12 curriculum, which can be found at RonPaulCurriculum.com, provides free education through the fifth grade, after which it charges parents for courses. The program’s aim is to provide “education in liberty like no other”. Topics include Austrian economics, the basics of Western Civilization and Western liberty, American history, the US Constitution, and starting a home-based business. Students will also receive practical training for the modern age, including instructions on how to start a successful YouTube channel.

Economist and historian Gary North, who is serving as Ron Paul’s director of curriculum development, said in an introductory video that the program will “teach the Biblical principle of self-government and personal responsibility”. It will also teach students about the history of liberty, threats to liberty and the ‘hijacking’ of the US Constitution.
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A common feature of authoritarian regimes is the criminalization of alternatives to government-controlled education. Dictators recognize the danger that free thought poses to their rule, and few things promote the thinking of “unapproved” thoughts like an education controlled by parents instead of the state. That is why the National Socialist (Nazi) government of Germany outlawed homeschooling in 1938.

Sadly, these Nazi-era restrictions on parental rights remain the law in Germany, leaving parents who wish greater control over their children’s education without options. That is why in 2006 Uwe and Hannalore Romeike, a German couple who wanted to homeschool their three children for religious reasons, sought asylum in the United States. Immigration judge Lawrence Burman upheld their application for asylum, recognizing that the freedom of parents to homeschool was a “basic human right.”Unfortunately, the current US administration does not see it that way, and has announced that it is appealing Judge Burman’s decision. If the administration is successful, the Romeikes could be sent back to Germany where they will be forced to send their children to schools whose teaching violates their religious beliefs. If they refuse, they face huge fines, jail time, or even the loss of custody of their children!

The Administration’s appeal claims that the federal government has the constitutional authority to ban homeschooling in all fifty states. The truth is, the Constitution gives the federal government no power to control any aspect of education. Furthermore, parents who, like the Romeikes, have a religious motivation for homeschooling should be protected by the free exercise clause of the First Amendment.

The federal government’s hostility to homeschooling is shared by officials at all levels of government. Despite the movement’s success in legalizing homeschooling in every state, many families are still subjected to harassment by local officials. The harassment ranges from “home visits” by child protective agencies to criminal prosecution for violating truancy laws.

Every American who values liberty should support the homeschoolers’ cause. If the government can usurp parental authority over something as fundamental as the education of their children, there is almost no area of parenthood off limits to government interference.

Homeschooling has proven to be an effective means of education. We are all familiar with the remarkable academic achievements, including in national spelling bees and other competitions, by homeshcooled children. In addition, homeschooled students generally fare better than their public school educated peers on all measures of academic performance.

It makes sense that children do better when their education is controlled by those who know their unique needs best, rather than by a federal bureaucrat. A strong homeschooling movement may also improve other forms of education. If competition improves goods and services in other areas of life, why wouldn’t competition improve education? A large and growing homeschooling movement could inspire public and private schools to innovate and improve.

When the government interferes with a parent’s ability to choose the type of education that is best for their child, it is acting immorally and in manner inconsistent with a free society. A government that infringes on the rights of homeschooling will eventually infringe on the rights of all parents. Homeschooled children are more likely to embrace the philosophy of freedom, and to join the efforts to restore liberty. In fact, I would not be surprised if the future leaders of the liberty movement where homeschooled.

I believe so strongly in the homeschooling movement that I have just announced my own curriculum for homeschooling families. Please visit this revolutionary new project at RonPaulCurriculum.com.

This Site Is Phase 2 of My Revolution: Beyond Politics

[…]Dr. North has assembled a first-rate faculty. Dr. Tom Woods will be teaching Western Civilization, government, the U.S. Constitution, and a unique course on the history of how America got into its wars, 1776 to today. How were they financed? What were the results?

Professor Timothy Terrell will teach a freshman course on personal finances. It will be the course you should have had way back when. It will teach about the uses and misuses of debt.

Bradley Fish, Jr. will teach courses in history and English in the middle school program, and he will offer a public speaking course to freshmen. He achieved something remarkable. In the month that he turned 18, he was awarded a bachelor’s degree in business management from an accredited college. He began passing CLEP exams at age 14. He did all of the course work by examination for $13,000 — total. He paid for most of this by running a lawn mowing business on weekends. He borrowed the rest from his parents. He paid it back within a year of graduation. There are teenagers who will enroll on this site who will achieve similar results.

His grandmother and mother will be teaching the free courses, K-5. His father will teach middle school math. There are 10 children in the family, ages 20 to 3. This is a family with homeschool experience.

Bojidar Marinov will teach high school math. It will combine algebra, geometry, and philosophy. It will end with calculus in the fourth year. He grew up under Communism in Bulgaria. His teaching approach combines East and West in a unique way: both theoretical and practical. He was a successful math teacher at a Houston community college.

Dr. North will teach two economics courses, a Western Civ and Western literature course. He will teach a course on starting a home-based business. He will even teach a course on how to write direct-mail advertising copy. There has never been a high school course like this one. I think some parents may take this course. Dr. North has been writing ads for 39 years.

There are no textbook expenses. The only textbook is in Western Civilization, and it’s free. There will be a few books to buy, such as F. A. Hayek’s Road to Serfdom, but no textbooks.

Tom Woods: There is nothing like this curriculum anywhere[…]My own role will be to teach high school courses in Western civilization, the U.S. Constitution, government, and the history of American wars. All the courses on the site are available as part of the overall curriculum or a la carte, for those who would like individual courses.[…]This, I am convinced, will prove to be Ron Paul’s most significant contribution to the cause of liberty — and that’s saying something. Please check out RonPaulCurriculum.com, and stay tuned for more news as we move forward with this exciting project.[…]I would give my right arm to have had a chance like this when I was a young student. Instead of fighting with teachers, school boards, and textbooks, parents can take comfort in knowing that their children are learning precisely what they ought to be learning, and then some. I am proud and thrilled to be a part of it.

Lew Rockwell: Hugely Significant! The Ron Paul Homeschool Curriculum! A boost to homeschooling, parent power, and well-educated children, and a blow to the public schools and the regime itself. Secede and take your children back.[…] LRC: Politico refers to Ron’s “ride into the sunset.” They wish! Ron can barely keep up with the flood of speaking invitations from universities and financial groups. He is hot. And he has just announced the extraordinary Ron Paul Homeschool Curriculum, to educate children K-12 in real economics, real history, and all the other skills they need. Talk about building for the future! He also has a new homeschool manifesto coming out to join his list of bestsellers, and he has other books in the works. He is founding a new institution that will especially bug the bad guys. More later this month. And he is involved in television production, a new website, and a host of other ways to reach Americans by circumventing the regime. Riding into the sunset? It’s morning in Ron Paul’s America!

First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Alabama State Constitution of 1901

SECTION 4
Freedom of speech and press.
That no law shall ever be passed to curtail or restrain the liberty of speech or of the press; and any person may speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty.

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